Ben Holloway

Ben is a 38-old private pilot with an instrument rating. He considers himself a relatively new pilot: he got his private certificate in 2012 and his instrument in 2014. He does most of his flying around the Gulf Coast; he's a flatland pilot. Ben is a chemical engineer by day which provides the means to fly, and he has two children, 12 and 19. He bought a 1965 PA-32 which he used to get his instrument rating and uses to fly around. He has flown to Oshkosh twice, in 2015 and 2016. He says it is quite interesting to be woken to the roar of jets and WWII fighters at 6am every morning.

I believe this is where things go bad for well-trained pilots. It’s not that we can’t improvise and come up with new plans, but when we’re a little lost and our original plan isn’t working out, we need a few moments to compose a new one. I was in the pattern in IMC, trying to descend well below pattern altitude to get below the scattered clouds while trying to do what I told the tower I would be doing – and also not get in trouble with ATC.

Write For Us

Did you know that most of the articles at Air Facts are written by readers like you? You do not have to be Richard Collins or Ernest Gann--simply a GA pilot with a story you'd share with friends sitting in the hangar. Share your experience on any aspect of GA transportation flying, whether for business or pleasure. Photos are an added bonus.

About Air Facts

Air Facts was first published in 1938 by Leighton Collins, dedicated to “the development of private air transportation.” It’s a different world now, and it’s a different Air Facts. Relaunched in 2011 as an online journal, Air Facts still champions, educates, informs and entertains pilots worldwide with real-world flying experiences.

Email Newsletter

Join thousands of other pilots - sign up for our informative email newsletter. It's completely free, and we will not share your information with anyone.